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(No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 1.

A. B. FOWLER & G. E. WARREN SEWING MACHINE.

No. 564,985. Patented Aug. 4, 1896.

X/ih ssEs -(N0 Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

A. B. FOWLERSv G. E.- WARREN, SEWING MACHINE.

No. 564,985. nt d g- 4, 1896.

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UNITED STATES PATENT EErcE.

ALFRED l3. FOXVLER AND GEORGE E. NVARREN, OF .PAlV'JUC-KET, RHODEISLAND, ASSIGNORS TO THE LINCOLN SEVING MACHINE COMPANY, OF EXETER, NEVHAMPSHIRE.

SEWING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 564,985, dated August4, 1896.

Application filed May 1, 1895. Serial No. 547,775. (No model-l To allwhom it may concern: ondly, pulling off thread from the tension,

Be it known that we, ALFRED B. FOWLER and thirdly, providing means forforming a and GEORGE E. \VARREN, of Pawtucket, in bight of threadbetween the material and the the county of Providence and State of Rhodethroat of the needle, all of which will be well Island, have invented anew and useful Imunderstood by those skilled in the art, espemovement inMeans for Handling Thread in cially upon referring to the followingpatents: Hook-Needle Chain-Stitch Sewing-Machines, No. $745,936, toCampbell, dated December 20, of which the following is a specification,refer 1887; Nos. 412,703 and 412,704, to French at once beinghad to theaccompanying drawings, at, dated October S, 1889 No. 473,870, to

ID in which French 615 (LL, dated April 26, 1892, and No.

Figure l is an elevation of so much of a 533,639, to Eppler, datedFebruary 5, 1895. sewing-machine as is requisite to illustrate Theobject of our invention is to pull 01% our invention. Fig. 2 is anelevation of a dethread from the tension while maintaining the vice fortaking up slack thread. Fig. 3 is a supply of thread in the loop alreadydrawn,

I 5 sectional elevation of apull-ofi device. Fig. so that when theneedle is drawn back the l.- is an elevation showing the main parts inanthread for the new loop is provided partly by other position from thatshown in Fig. 1. the thread in the preceding loop and partly Inhook-needle chain-stitch sewing-maby the thread drawn from the tensionby the chines the thread is ordinarily drawn taut by pull-off mechanism.

20 the back stroke of the needle; that is, when In the drawings, Arepresents a tension dethehook-needle has completed its back stroke viceof well-known construction, through the thread is taut on one side ofthe material which the thread passes from any proper in the form ofaloop held by the needle-throat, thread supply over a guidet-ruck b,which is and on the other side of the material the preferablyadjustable, as shown, and back of 25 thread is taut through the looperand other the pull-off truck B through the brake D d, 7 5

thread-guides back to the tension. As the shown as applied by its springcl, acting on needle is moved toward the material the loop the movingmember D when that member is of thread in its throat is slackened, andwhen released from stop (1 on the arm Z), which the needle haspenetrated the material the carries pull-01f truck B. Arm h'isadjust-ably loop lies loosely about the shank of the needle, connectedto lever 13 which is oscillated by its and the looper then laysthethread in the hook cam-roll and cam 12 as clearly shown in Figs.

of the needle, so that when the looper has op- 1 and l.

erated the thread on one side of the material From the brake D (Z thethread extends is in the form of a slack loop about the needleoverguide-truck b and thence under the 3 5 shank, and when the needle isdrawn back it slack-taking truck F, which is on arm f, con- 8 5 draws anew loop through the material and trolled by the light spring f, andwhich acts through the preceding loop, which is thus in connection withtruck Z2 on one side of it tightened and thereby furnishes a part of theand truck b on the other side of it to take up thread for the succeedingloop, the rest of the any slack in the thread, for, as will be seen 0thread being drawn from the tension; and all in Fig. 1, slack-takin gtruck F is held against the thread which the needle draws from the thepull of the light springf when the thread tension renders in the throatof the needle is taut, but in case of any slack the springf under thestrain due to the tension, which is will cause truck F to take it up.objectionable, especially in machines for sew- The pull-off truck B, itsarm b, its lever b 45 ing turn shoes and welts. This objection hastogether with the moving member D of the 5 long been well known to allskilled in the art, brake, are best shown in Figs. 1 and -;t, and butheretofore all attempts to overcome it Fig.3,which also illustratestheways in which have been based upon the plan of first drawthe headedjournal of the pull-off truck B ing back the thread, so as to leave nosupply slides.

50 of thread in one loop for the next loop; sec- The slack-taking truckF, its arm f and spring f, together with the looper and the guide-truck12 are best shown in Fig. 2.

The parts not lettered are too well known to require description.

In Fig. 1 the needle is at the end of its back stroke to set the stitchby tightening the thread from the hook of the needle through the betweensubstance, through the looper, over truck 19 under truck F, over truck19 through the open brake D d, past pull-ofi. truck B, and guide-truck bto the tension A.

In Fig. 4 the thread is held by the brake D d and the pull-off truck Bhas just commenced to pull oii thread through the tension, while thelooper has laid the thread in the hook of the needle and the slack-taking truck F has taken up the slack. The pull-off truck B completes itsback stroke, pulling off thread from the tension, but not taking up thethread, for the brake D d prevents pull-off truck B from acting as atake-up, the main object being to pull off thread from the tensionwithout pulling the thread back, so as to leave a thread supply on bothsides of theneedle, the thread in the preceding loop being the supplyfor one side of the needle and the thread given up by the pull-off beingthe supply for the other side of the needle. As the needle draws a newloop of thread through the material and the preceding loop the pull-offtruck 13 makes its forward stroke supplying thread for the new loop, andthe old loop then lying slack about the shank of the needle alsosupplies thread for the new loop, the result being not only that wedispense wholly with the bight-forining mechanism essential in all otherhook-needle machines with a pull-01f mechanism, but also materiallyreduce the rendering of the thread to and fro.

lVhile we show a thread-brake for preventing the truck B from acting asa take-up, it will be obvious that the essential matter is that thethread shall be pulled off from the tension without being so taken up orpulled and like the older class of hook-needle sewing-machines in thatit maintains in each loop a thread supply for the next loop, yet differsfrom both these classes in mode of operation as well as in result.

hat we claim as our invention is 1. In a hook-needle chain-stitchsewing-m achine the combination of a tension; a looper; a hook-needle;which draws a loop of thread through a preceding loop and tightens thestitch by its loop-drawing stroke; a pull-off mechanism between thetension and the needle; and means to hold the thread on the needle sideof the pull-01f mechanism and thereby prevent that mechanism from actingas a takeup and compel it to draw thread from the tension; all organizedand operating to form and tighten the stitch substantially as described.

2. In a hook-needle chain-stitch sewing-machine the combination of atension; a looper; ahook-needle; which draws a loop of thread through apreceding loop and tightens the stitch by its loop-drawing stroke; apull-oil mechanism between the tension and the needle; and athread-brake between the pull-off mechanism and the needle; allorganized and operating to form and tighten the stitch substantially asdescribed.

ALFRED B. FOWLER. GEORGE WARREN. Vitnesses:

M. E. DoLLoFF, A. L. Goonmc.

